First Aarhus tram on test

The 14 Variobahn trams are being built at Stadler Pankow’s factory near Berlin.

DENMARK: The first tram for the light rail network under construction in Aarhus has been unveiled and is scheduled to be delivered to Denmark in the coming months.

Project promoter Aarhus Letbane signed a turnkey contract in 2014 with a consortium of Stadler and signalling supplier Ansaldo STS. This covers two types of vehicles to operate two types of services.

Stadler Pankow is building 14 three-section Variobahn trams, the first of which is on test at its Velten site near Berlin. The 32 m long tram has six double doors and two single doors per side, and is intended for use on the inner-city sections of the network.

Aarhus Letbane also ordered 12 three-car Tango tram-trains, which will operate on the Banedanmark network from Nørreport through Aarhus H to Odder and north to Hornslet and Grenaa. The 39 m long vehicles are being built at Altenrhein in Switzerland, and the first is expected to be delivered in October. The light rail line is expected to open in 2017.

All 26 vehicles will be stabled at the same depot. They have been designed for the region’s damp climate, with additional corrosion protection and high-performance air-conditioning to keep large windows free of mist. The interiors are designed to make wheelchair users ‘part of the journey’, and so do not feature separate wheelchair spaces as such. Contrary to previous plans, there will be no onboard toilets, with facilities instead provided at stations.

A feature article on the Aarhus light rail project appears in the September 2013 issue of Metro Report International, available to subscribers in our digital archive.